It’s not surprising to fans that a sequel is much expected after the conclusion of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, as the Mantis Crew’s journey is far from over yet. It took nearly four years for its sequel, Star War Jedi: Survivor, to debut, and what a great sequel it turns out to be. Despite the gameplay mechanics that might feel familiar to those who have played the first game, the game managed to deliver beyond my expectations by introducing brand-new characters, more worlds to explore, new combat options, and much more additional content.

Brief glimpse of Cal’s journey in Survivor

Taking place approximately five years after the events of Fallen Order, when the Mantis crew have all gone their separate ways in the vast galaxy much controlled by the Galactic Empire, Survivor kicks off with protagonist Cal Kestis leading his new team on Coruscant, aiming to gather intel regarding the Imperial forces aboard Senator Daho Sejan's ship. However, their mission is thwarted by the Ninth Sister, resulting in the death of Cal's crew. With the help of Bode Akuna, Cal manages to escape from Imperial authorities and heads to the planet Koboh to find his old friend Greez and repair his ship. While on Koboh, he comes across a High Republic Jedi protocol droid who possesses a clue to finding Tanalorr, a legendary planet believed to be unreachable. Cal sees the potential of Tanalorr as a safe haven away from the Empire's grip, thus endeavors to reassemble the Mantis crew in an attempt to actualize his vision. However, their plans are disrupted by a former High Republic Jedi who wants Tanalorr for his own agenda, having discovered it years prior and waited for the right opportunity.

Stunning environments with engaging puzzles and platforming challenges

This time, Cal’s adventures take us to four new captivating environments, including Level 2046 on Coruscant, the treacherous cliffs of Koboh, the unforgiving deserts of Jedha, and the mythical planet Tanalorr. With each planet featuring their own distinct terrain, the game offers a diverse range of exploratory challenges. For example, the metropolitan Level 2046 is more of a vertical playground where you’ll have to take on plenty of towering buildings and jump across various sky-scraping platforms, while Jedha boasts regions of vast barren deserts along with some ancient ruins. Just like in Fallen Order, Survivor offers exciting platforming challenges and Force puzzles, but the game's dynamic and breathtaking environmental design ensures that the gameplay never gets repetitive. For those who are not so familiar with the series’ puzzles, it’s easy to get lost in the immersive puzzles and thrilling environments, fortunately the game provides hints that could turned on in the options for easier navigation.

Five lightsaber stances, five ways to fight

Thankfully, Cal didn't start his journey in Survivor completely clueless. As a seasoned Jedi who had already mastered some pretty epic Force abilities and lightsaber skills during his previous adventure in Fallen Order, he could easily slice and dice his way through some measly Stormtroopers or Bedlam Raiders early on in the game. But as he faces tougher and tougher opponents, he's gonna need to bring out some new tricks if he wants to come out on top. With new Stances like Kylo Ren’s Crossguard stance, which sacrifices speed for the ability to unleash long-reaching devastating strikes, and the Blaster stance that combine gunplay with lightsaber action, you've got a whole arsenal of moves to choose from. Watching Cal slice through hordes of enemies with his Crossguard lightsaber is pure satisfaction, and blasting baddies from afar feels like a cheat that makes you untouchable. Whether you're a series fan or a newbie, there's plenty of combat options to keep things fresh and exciting in Survivor.

But here's the thing that's kind of a bummer – the game only allows you to equip two stances at a time and you can only switch them out at the Meditation Point. I get that the Double-bladed and Crossguard stances are great for fighting multiple enemies, while the Dual-wield and Blaster stances are awesome for one-on-one combat with stronger foes, but what if I don't know what kind of battle I'll be getting into until I’m in it? (Well, except for the painfully obvious save-point-before-boss-battle.) On top of that, unlike the last game, each stance has its own skill tree now, making it pretty much pointless to invest in stances that you barely use. Sure, you can respec for one Skill Point, but those points are actually pretty hard to come by early on in the game without some grinding and thorough explorations. It feels like the game allows less room of experiment as players will have to be much more careful on the allocation of Skill Points.

The game promotes the idea that each different stance will make different battles easier, yet it doesn’t give you access to all five stances at the same time, thus all I could do is to adapt my playstyle to different scenarios, despite that the current stance might seem less ideal in given situations. In the end, I feel like you could just pick the two stance that you like and simply utilize other abilities at your disposal to compensate its weakness. Like for the Dual-wield stance with extremely short range, just try to close the gap between you and faraway enemies with dodge or Force Pull. So far my go-to stances are Dual-wield and Double-bladed, as I have poured most of my resources into upgrading them and don’t really have time to mess around with other stances.

Nevertheless, the game’s combat is still a blast with its more than 30 enemy types, each having their own strengths and weaknesses. There are enemies that have jetpacks on their backs which could be destroyed in order to reduce their mobility, as well as enemies that throw stun grenades that could be Force Pushed back onto their faces. Also, due to the mechanism that some attacks are unblockable, and that some attacks have significantly wider range, you can’t simply hold down the block button or spam the dodge button during combats. Rather, the game encourages full use of your arsenal of skills in order to overcome the hurdle before you, such as dodging over an unblockable attack, parrying a pretty obvious strike, or even jumping over a wide-ranged sweep attack. Coupled with the series’ staple sound effects such as the deflected blaster shots and activated lightsabers, the combat experience in Survivor is comprehensively gratifying as you’ll not only have to master your own skills but also understand your enemies' abilities, especially on harder difficulties, in order to emerge victorious.

There’s always room to wind down

Apart from all the thrilling action, the game also allows players to unwind with some peaceful interludes. Whenever you feel like taking a break, head over to Pyloon’s Saloon on Koboh, a cantina owned by Greez Dritus that serves as a safe haven for travelers. Cal can invite other characters he meets during his journey back to the cantina, leading to more opportunities for interactions and side quests (Rumors). For instance, by completing the Rumor titled “The Odd Pair”, you'll unlock a pair of characters who organize a Holotactics tournament (similar to Auto Chess or Teamfight Tactics in League of Legends) at the cantina. You can also try your hand at rooftop gardening, talk to NPCs to learn more about the game's world and its characters, and visit vendors who trade cosmetics and perks for collectibles found throughout the game's various worlds. For those looking for some excitement outside of the main stories, try tracking down the bounty hunters who are after Cal while enjoying the exhilarating duels and lucrative rewards that comes after.

Something seemingly inevitable for new releases

However, like many other newly released games, Survivor also comes with its own bugs and glitches. Throughout my gameplay on PS5, I experienced several texture glitches where objects and terrains would randomly turn black, sabotaging the overall beauty of the game’s exquisite environment. Also, defeating the enemies that killed you is supposed to refill your Health and Focus, as well the lost EXP, but I encountered rare scenarios where nothing was restored even after striking down the boss that had defeated me once. There goes my hard-earned EXP.

Verdict

Building on the successes of the previous game, Survivor takes players on what feels like a proper sequel, with Cal expanding on his capabilities as a veteran Jedi instead of having him relearn all the basics. While it's disappointing that all five battle stances are not interchangeable during combat, the on-point sounds effects and comprehensive battle mechanics make up for its flaws, offering an exciting gameplay experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a great narrative, action, and puzzle experience overall, and while it is not officially confirmed yet, I believe the game will leave fans eagerly anticipating a third game in the series to complete a trilogy.

That concludes Lluvia’s thoughts on the gameplay of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.